The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1887-10-01
KILLED BY A SHE'LL.
A Bit of Vivid Word. painting ty
the Russian Novelist.

The following is from "Sebastopol, u
by Count Leo Tolstoi: We left Praskou-
kline coming back with Mikhailoff. He
reached less exposed place and began
to breathe again, when he perceived on
turning around the sudden light of a
fash. The sentinel shouted "Mor-tar =
and one of the soldiers who followed
added: at is coming straight into the
basrion |" Mikhailoff looked. The
luminous point of the bombshell seemed
to stop directly over his head, exactly
the moment when it was impossible to
tell what direction it was going to take.
That was for the space of second.
Suddenly, redoubling its speed. the
projectile came nearer and nearer. The
sparks of the fuse could be seen flying
out, the dismal Kissing was plainly
audible. II was going to drop right in
the midst of the battalion. ITO earth !"
shouted q voice. Mikhailoff and Pras-
kouklne obeyed. The latter, with shut
eyes, heard the shell fall somewhere on
the hard earth near him. A second,
which appeared to him an hour, passed,
and the smell did not burst. Praskou-
kline was frightened; then he asked him.
self what cause he had to lear. Perhaps
1t had fallen farther away, and he
wrongly imagined that he heard the
fuse kissing near him. Opening his
eyes. he Was satisfied to see Mikhailoff
stretched motionless at his feet; but at
the same time he perceived. yard off,
the lighted fuse of the shell spinning
round like top. A glacial terror,
which stifed every thought, every SEN
timent, took possession IF his soul. He
hid his face IN hands. Another second
passed, during which whole world of
thoughts, of hopes, of sensations and
of souvenirs passed through his mind
Whom will it kill? Me or Mlkhailoff,
or, indeed both OIL US togeLher2 If it is
l, where will it hit me2 If in the head,
il will be all over; it on the foot, they
will cut it off; then [ shall insist that
they give me chloroform And 1 may
get well. Perhaps Mikhailof alone will
be killed, and later l will tel how we
were close together, and how l was
covered with his blood, No, no! it is
nearer met will be !" Then he re
memoered the twelve rubles he owed
Mikhailoff, and another left at Peters
burg which ought to have been paid
long ago. A Bohemian air that he sang
the evening before came to his mind.
He also saw in his imaginationsst the lady
he was in love within her lllac-trimmed
bonnet; the man who had insulted MIN
five years before, and whom he had
never taken vengeance on. But in the
midst OF these and many other SOU
venirs the present feeling. the expect
alton of death, did not leave him. Per
haps it is not going to explode" he
thought, and was on the point of open
ing his eyes with desperate boldness.
ut at this instant red fire struck his
through the closed lids. and something
hit him in the middle of the chest with
a terrible crash. He ran forward at
random, eRtangled his feet in his sword,
stumbled and fell on his side. God be
praisedI l am only bruised" This
was his first thought, and he wanted to
feel of his breast, but his hands seemed
as if they were tied. A wise gripped
his head, soldiers ran before his eyes
and he mechanically counted them:
"One, two, three soldiers; aud, besides
an officer who IS losing his cloak" A
new light flashed; he wondered what
had fred. Was it a mortar or acannon!
more soldiers, five, six. seven. They
passed in trout of him, and suddenly
he became terribly afraid OF being
crushed by them. He wanted TO cry
out to say that he was bruised, but his
lips were dry, his tongue was glued to
the roof Of his mouth. He had burn
ing thirst. He felt that his breast was
damp, and the sensation of this moisture
made him think of water. He would
have likedsto drink that which drenched
him. ~ must have knocked the skin
off in falling" he said to himself. and,
more and more frightened at the idea of
being crushed by the soldiers who we're
running in the crowd before him, ne
tried again to cry out, Take mel" But,
instead of that, he uttered a groan so
terrible that he was frightened by it
Then red Spares danced be
fore his eyes; 1T seemed as if the soldiers
were piling stones upon him. The
sparks danced more rapidly; the stones
piled on him more and more: He
stretched himself out; he ceased to STE,
to hear, TO think, to feel. He had been
killed instantly bya piece of she'll strik-
ing him full in the breast.